1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a semi-rigid flexible film pack that can be used for containing multiple packages of a product and a method for making same. The invention uses standard flexible film pre-made gusseted bags as a starting material. In a preferred embodiment, the gussets on the gusseted bag are heat-sealed to the side walls, product (typically pillow bags containing a snack food) is placed within the gusseted bag, and the open end of the gusseted bag is sealed by application of a single sheet or web of film.
2. Description of Related Art
The snack food industry typically markets snack foods in flexible film packages referred to as pillow bags due to their shape that is similar to a pillow. These pillow bags are typically made on vertical form, fill, and seal packaging machines. The pillow bags come in a variety of shapes and sizes, anywhere from small single-serve bags of about 6 inches in height and 5 inches in width, to much larger packages in excess of 20 inches in height and 12 inches in width.
With the smaller single-serve type pillow bags, it is frequently preferable to market and sell several of these pillow bags as a combined unit. In the prior art, this has typically been accomplished by placing the pillow bags in a rectangular shaped cardboard container having an open top and then sealing the container with a flexible film that encloses the entire cardboard box, including its opening. The advantage of such cardboard box is that the cardboard provides a semi-rigid structure that is somewhat protective of the pillow bags. This prior art solution, however, has several drawbacks. For example, the use of the cardboard box adds to both the expense of producing the combined packaging and to the shipping weight of the combination. Further, several steps are involved in forming the box, filling the box, and enclosing the box with a flexible film. Also, the cardboard material used to construct the box is not transparent. Consequently, the consumer can only observe the contents of the box through the top or sealed end.
Another prior art solution is to fill a larger pillow bag with smaller pillow bags. A related solution is to have a flexible film sack that is filled with pillow bags and simply tied at the top. Both of these prior art solutions are less expensive and easier to manufacture than the cardboard box solution described above. However, they do not provide for structural integrity of the overall container, as is accomplished with the cardboard box arrangement. The shape of the stuffed large bag is also not conducive to stacking.
Consequently, a need exists for a semi-rigid container that is relatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture, yet also provides some structural rigidity to the overall package. Such container should ideally be roughly rectangular shaped to facilitate stacking and transparent absent graphics placed on the container.